Kevin Walters and Craig Fitzgibbon have been left with opposite views after Royce Hunt was penalised for hitting Adam Reynolds dangerously after kicking.
In a tight contest which saw the Brisbane Broncos run out narrow eight-point winners over the Cronulla Sharks on the road, Hunt was penalised during the second half for a late shot.
The Broncos would score through Herbie Farnworth in the very next set to extend their lead to 20 points to 6 with just 12 minutes to go - a lead that ultimately was unassailable for Cronulla despite a late try of their own to fullback William Kennedy.
Fitzgibbon said he though the call to penalise Hunt for the kick pressure on Reynolds was harsh.
"Yeah, I thought so. If that's the rule that's the rule, it's pretty obvious we want to put pressure on them but not while he is in the air," Fitzgibbon said on the penalty.
"I wouldn't have thought it hurt, but that's the rule."
His opposite coach, Kevin Walters, had the opposite opinion, and even believed the officials missed a penalty for kick pressure on Reynolds earlier in the game.
"Yeah, it should have been, and he should have got one in the first half too when he was taken out kicking. It was a good decision from the referee," Walters said.
Reynolds, who said he agreed with the penalty decision, said the referees handled the game well, but pressed further with the revelation commentators didn't feel it was a penalty, Walters suggested they should get onto the field and try kicking the football.
"Let's put those commentators out on the field and let them kick the ball," Walters said.
"Couple of Queenslanders was it?" Reynolds inquired.
"Probably Mick Ennis," Walters finished before exiting the press conference alongside his captain.
The kicking game for Brisbane throughout the contest was excellent, with Reynolds making 486 metres off his own boot.
Fitzgibbon admitted it was the key difference between the two sides in summing up the performance as he lamented his own side's struggles with the ball in hand.
The loss leaves the Sharks with a seven and five record, while the Broncos sit top of the table with ten wins and all three byes in hand, the first of which comes in Round 16 following next Saturday's clash with the Newcastle Knights.
“Yeah, I thought so. If that’s the rule that’s the rule, it’s pretty obvious we want to put pressure on them but not while he is in the air,” Fitzgibbon said on the penalty.
“I wouldn’t have thought it hurt, but that’s the rule.”
So, ahh, if Craig Fitzgibbon accepts what the rule is why didn’t he say: “we want to put pressure on, but within the rules, and that was outside the rules” ? End of story.
Or better still, simply say: “we played poorly tonight, and that was just one example of it”.